Perfume Chemicals That Can Hurt You

In a new study from the University of Rochester, Lauren Parlett, a doctoral candidate in the department of public health sciences, pinpointed perfumes as the largest source of exposure women have to chemicals called phthalates. There are dozens of phthalates used in personal care products, only a few of which have been studied, and the one particular variety used in perfumes is a big question mark when it comes to your health.

“We really need to understand how phthalates are affecting women’s health, and we’re just in infancy of doing that,” Parlett says.